2026/07/15 by Alexander J. Stein · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact #Phosphorus and nutrient management #Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
paper · doi:10.5281/zenodo.20425656
openalex publication_date 2026/07/15 · openalex created_date 2026/07/16 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/16
According to the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, “agriculture in Ireland is primarily a grass-based industry.” Nevertheless, it relies heavily on mineral fertiliser: In 2017/18 over 350,000 tonnes of nitrogen (N) from mineral fertiliser – 87% of overall use – were applied to grassland, which is used for animal production. By contrast, only 16,000 tonnes of N from animal manure – 2.7% of all N from manure – were used on crops. Most of these crops were used as animal feed. This means that – when it comes to dependency on imported fertilisers – even in a best-case grass-based system like Ireland, manure use in non-animal production offsets only a negligible share of the mineral fertiliser used in animal production systems (see Figure). Animal production is therefore a net consumer of mineral fertiliser, i.e. reducing animal production would also reduce dependency on mineral fertilisers and support broader EU objectives on the resilience and strategic autonomy of its food system. These system-level effects highlight that the composition of food production systems matters for overall resource use, environmental pressure, and food security.